Purpose
To gain a greater understanding of adolescent’s experiences living with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and create a theoretical paradigm.
Methods
Grounded theory as described by Glaser was used. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted with adolescent’s ages 11 to 15 with T1DM. Symbolic interactionism is the theoretical framework for grounded theory. Data were collected; transcribed, coded, and analyzed simultaneously using constant comparative analysis and findings were grounded in the words of participants.
Results
A theoretical model was created with the concept of “normalizing”. Normalizing was defined as the ability to integrate diabetes into one’s daily life to make diabetes ‘part of me’. Phase four of the model, and the focus of this manuscript was “Moving the Journey towards Independence” and included: 1) taking over care, 2) experiencing conflict with parents, and 3) realizing diabetes is hard. The major task for adolescents in this phase was separating from parents to independently manage diabetes. The normalizing task for this phase was: “taking on the burden of care”. Adolescents described challenges with independent care and increased parental conflict including: fearing needles, forgetting insulin, feeling embarrassed and believing that diabetes was a burden in their life. Additionally, juggling the multiple responsibilities of home, school and work along with managing a chronic illness during adolescence is challenging.
Conclusions
Transitioning to diabetes self-management is a challenge for adolescents. This model advances understanding of the moving processes in adolescents transitioning; additionally, hypotheses are presented that may be used for developing interventions to promote success in self-management.
Purpose
The purpose of this research study was to gain a greater understanding of adolescent’s experiences living with diabetes, and to build a theoretical paradigm to inform interventional design.
Methods
Classical grounded theory was utilized; fifteen in-depth interviews of eleven subjects were conducted with Caucasian adolescents’ ages 11 to 15 with Type 1 diabetes. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analyzed using constant comparative analysis. Codes were linked to create the paradigm.
Results
A theoretical model was developed about the concept of “normalizing.” Normalizing is defined as the ability of the adolescents to integrate diabetes into the background of their daily life by creating routines to make diabetes ‘part of me.’ Codes identified in normalizing included: a) ‘recognizing life is changing’; b) ‘taking action to prevent a crisis’; c) ‘disclosing to engage support’; d) ‘taking on the burden of care’; e) ‘accepting the ‘new normal’; and f) ‘hoping for a normal future’.
Conclusions
Normal developmental tasks of adolescence were closely related and contribute to understanding why adolescents struggle with diabetes. These research findings place a different and positive perspective on diabetes management; the focus shifts to supporting wellness and maintaining a normal life rather than on illness. Findings are expected to be of value to health providers working with adolescents with Type 1 diabetes, parents, nursing researchers, and adolescents facing the challenge of diabetes management.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.